Corvallis Guitar Society

  • Corvallis Guitar Society Events in June 2025

    News from the Board

    Dear Corvallis Guitar Enthusiasts!

    Our next monthly meeting is around the corner, on June 2nd at 7:15pm in the Oddfellows Hall in Corvallis. This will be the last meeting for the school year. We will welcome the OSU Guitar Ensemble and its director Dr. Cameron O’Connor as our monthly guest artists.

    If you miss this OSU Guitar Ensemble performance, you have another chance to see them in concert at the PRAX on June 5th, 7pm. Concert Tickets

    We are also excited to let you know about several big changes that we will introduce for the next season, starting in October:

    We are moving our monthly Guitar Society Meetings onto the OSU campus, to the brand-new PRAx Rehearsal Classroom Building (https://prax.oregonstate.edu/visit/prax-venues).

    The meetings will move to the second Sunday of the month, late afternoon.

    The Ensemble Practice will be held at separate times, outside of our regular monthly meetings. We will work on fewer pieces for multiple months, preparing for a concert (details to be announced). With this change, we will have a full hour for our Open Mic session that has been growing in popularity.

    We have another lineup of world-class guest artists that will be announced on our website during the summer.

    Speaking of, we also have a brand-new website (check it out at corvallisguitarsociety.org).

    And, last but not least we have new board members and a new president. You can see the changes here.

    And here is the information for our next meeting:

    Summary

    • Our next Guitar Society Meeting is on June 2 (first Monday of the month) at Odd Fellows Hall and will begin at 7:15 pm; free and open to the public.
    • The OSU Guitar Ensemble directed by Cameron O’Connor is our featured artist group featuring both large and small ensemble combinations for the evening concert.
    • Isaac Engel will be running the Community Ensemble Session. We’re playing La Bamba, The Water is Wide, and Liliburlero (depending on time). Recordings provided as available! See score access and details below…
    • The Open Stage is an opportunity for anyone to play classical guitar music – beginners, intermediate, and advanced!
    • The After School Guitar Program is going to take place on Monday June 2 at 6:00pm run by Isaac Engel, and on Monday June 19 at 7:00pm run by Jacob Ripley. The songs for this month are Dust in the Wind and an arrangement of Edvard Grieg’s Morning Song.

    Corvallis Guitar Society Monthly Meeting

    Our next monthly meeting is on Monday, June 2, 7:15pm – 9:15pm
    Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis
    Free & Open to the Public

    The Agenda
    7:00 – 7:15 pm Welcome
    7:15 – 7:40 pm Open Guitar Ensemble: See below for the Guitar Ensemble scores and recordings – everyone is welcome to play in the group!
    7:40 – 8:10 pm Open Stage: all ages and abilities are welcome to come and share their guitar music with us!
    8:10 – 8:20 pm Break and Refreshments
    8:20 – 9:15 pm The OSU Guitar Ensemble directed by Cameron O’Connor is our guest performing group for the evening’s free concert.

    Featured Artist: OSU Guitar Ensemble

    The Oregon State University Guitar Ensemble dives deep. Presenting repertoire from all over the world and from many historical eras, the ensemble carries audiences into the full range of what the instrument can do.

    From showstopping medleys of Queen songs arranged for guitar orchestra to show-must-go-on arrangements of classic American musicals such as Carousel the OSU Guitar Ensemble welcomes audiences into a friendly and exciting musical adventure. Rather than an entire evening with performances in only one format, the program shifts from a full guitar orchestra to quartets, even to duos, and introduces guest vocal and instrumental soloists to contribute an even greater depth and brilliance to the sound of the ensemble. Expect some music from Studio Ghibli, something you’ll recognize, and something totally unexpected!

    The OSU Guitar Ensemble is directed by Dr. Cameron O’Connor who is head of the OSU Guitar Studies program, Artistic Director of the Corvallis Guitar Society, and an internationally prizewinning performer and respected educator.

    Open Guitar Ensemble

    Isaac Engel is running the Open Guitar Ensemble in which anyone is welcome to participate. Please send him an email at isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com to let him know which parts you’ll be playing, and remember to bring the music with you to the Guitar Society meeting!

    Here are the scores and performance notes for the Ensemble Session Music:

    La Bamba – Ritchie Valens arr. Derek Hasted
    Score and parts: Sheet Music Plus has SAMPLE scores and audios here, but please email Isaac at isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com to get the full score. Alternate link for audio sample here.
    Notes: This is a wonderful tune, and a fun arrangement by Derek Hasted. Take the time when practicing this one to get really comfortable playing off the beat. Part 1 in particular has plenty of syncopation to keep the player challenged, but parts 2, 3, and 4 have their fair share. There’s an optional part 5 for acoustic bass, and any acoustic bass players are welcome to play with us!

    The Water is Wide – traditional arr. by Lou Warde
    Score and parts: Here’s the PDF Score. To hear the play-along audio you can go to the page Guitar Ensemble on his website and click the song title to show the audio.
    Notes: This is a beautiful and sweet short traditional piece. None of the parts are terribly difficult, but the players on part 4 must be very steady to keep the music from losing its way. Parts 2 and 3 are the easier parts for notes and steady rhythms.

    Liliburlero – Henry Purcell arr. by Andrew Forrest
    Score and parts: The score and recording are both available here in Guitar Trios on Andrew’s website. Here are direct links to the Score and the Recording.
    Notes: Just a quick and happy little dance tune! It’s a little unusual in that this arrangement is for a trio. Part 2 and 3 are suitable for beginners, but Part 1 gives intermediate and above players the opportunity to develop their higher positions. We’ll definitely do a couple repeats for this one with some variances to the dynamics and tone. Depending on time, we may not play this one.

    Open Stage

    Everyone is invited to perform guitar music on the Open Stage at the Corvallis Guitar Society, whether beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Bring your guitar, put your name down on the sign-up sheet at the beginning of the evening, and we’ll give you a warm welcome as you share some music with us!

    Guitar Teaching Lessons

    The Guitar Lessons Program is a free lesson offered to community members twice monthly by Corvallis Guitar Society Directors Isaac Engel, and Jacob Ripley.

    The After School Guitar Program is free and open to the public. We invite especially middle and high school students to explore the possibilities that playing guitar can open up. Our goal is to raise the awareness and understanding of the guitar as a wonderful instrument by featuring group lessons, private lessons and ensemble music.

    The music for this month is arranged by Bill Tyers and available on his awesome website https://www.guitardownunder.com. We’ll be learning the intro to Dust in the Wind and we’ll also be learning Bill’s simple arrangement of Morning Song by Edvard Grieg. Click on those links to check out the specific pieces.

    If you have any question contact Jacob at jacob.ripley5@gmail.com  or phone 541-357-2513, or contact Isaac Engel isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com or phone 971-718-4535 and you can view his website: https://isaacengelmusic.com/

    Times are as follows:
    The First Monday on June 2 at Odd Fellows Hall – Isaac Engel
    6:00pm to 7:00pm is the After School Guitar Program (group lesson and ensemble)
    The Third Monday on June 19 at Odd Fellows Hall – Jacob Ripley
    7:00 – 8:30pm is the After School Guitar Program group lesson & the Community Beginning group lesson.

    The Location for the Event

    Entrance to the above events is free and open to the public (donations gratefully received).

    Location: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR 97333. The entrance door is right next to the New Morning Bakery.

    Thanks so much and all best wishes,

    Best Regards
    Isaac Engel, Director of the Corvallis Guitar Society

  • Corvallis Guitar Society Events in May 2025

    Summary

    • Our next Guitar Society Meeting is on May 5 (first Monday of the month) at Odd Fellows Hall and will begin at 7:15 pm; free and open to the public.
    • Cameron O’Connor is the featured artist for the evening concert.
    • Isaac Engel will be running the Community Ensemble Session; scores and performance prep notes for the pieces are provided. Recordings provided as available! See the ensemble section below for score access and details below…
    • The Open Stage is an opportunity for anyone to play classical guitar music – beginners, intermediate, and advanced! This month will feature an extended open stage time for our players already signed up from last month. Get your name on that sign-up sheet early!
    • The After School Guitar Program is going to take place on Monday May 5 at 6:00 pm run by Isaac Engel, and on Monday May 19 at 7:00 pm run by Jacob Ripley.

    Corvallis Guitar Society Monthly Meeting

    Our next monthly meeting is on Monday, May 5th, 7:15pm – 9:15pm
    Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis
    Free & Open to the Public

    The Agenda
    7:15 – 7:20 pm Welcome
    7:20 – 7:35 pm Open Guitar Ensemble: everyone is welcome to play in the group! Continue past the featured artist information for the music.
    7:35 – 8:20 pm Open Stage: beginners, intermediate players, and advanced guitarists are all welcome to come and share their music with us!
    8:20 – 8:30 pm Break and Refreshments
    8:30 – 9:15 pm Cameron O’Connor is our guest artist for the evening’s free guitar concert.

    Featured Artist: Cameron O’Connor

    http://www.cameronoconnor.com/

    Artist Bio:

    Corvallis’s own Cameron O’Connor is the featured artist for our May meeting!

    Acclaimed as “stunning and emotive” (Eugene Register-Guard)  and “accomplished and soulful” (Portland Magazine) Cameron O’Connor enjoys a diverse career in solo, chamber, and contemporary music. 

    A few career highlights include recitals throughout Japan; performing as a guest artist at the Loyola Marymount, Corvallis, Siempre la Guitarra, and Northwest Guitar Festivals; chamber music and opera appearances with Eugene Opera and musicians of the Oregon Symphony in their Classical Up Close concert series; as a chamber music soloist at the New World Symphony in Miami (for which the South Florida Classical Review noted that he was “especially effective in the quick and diabolical figures”); appearing as a guest artist and performing duos with Sharon Isbin at the Aspen Music Festival and School; performing with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony; and appearing under the baton of Chinese composer Tan Dun in his Eastern-tinged Concerto for Six, for which the New York Times noted that “O’Connor fluttered on his guitar strings in a manner reminiscent of a pipa player’s technique.” He is furthermore a prizewinner in many international competitions, including the Frances Walton and Tokyo International Guitar Competition. 

    His playing has been featured in films, including James Franco’s Don Quixote and Scott Tennant’s instructional classic Pumping Nylon, and his performances have been featured on Seattle’s Classical 98.1 KingFM,  All Classical Portland, American Public Media’s Performance Today, and KPFK’s Global Village. His recording of Michael Lee’s Unmasked (written for O’Connor) was chosen for Ablaze Record’s Millenial Masters, distributed by Naxos. As a composer, O’Connor won the 2019 Keene State College Call for Scores, the “Outstanding Winner” 2nd prize at the Changsha International Guitar Festival in China, and is a finalist in the 2nd Portugal International Guitar Composition Competition. 

    O’Connor also performs regularly for musical theatre productions on electric guitar, banjo, and mandolin, as well as in early music settings on the vihuela and lute.​

    Cameron’s compositions and arrangements can be found through LACG Editions (lacg.net); and his writings published in the pages of the Guitar Foundation of America’s quarterly, Soundboard. 

    Cameron is the Artistic Director of our own Corvallis Guitar Society, and we’re thrilled to have him playing for us! 

    Open Guitar Ensemble

    Isaac Engel is running the Open Guitar Ensemble in which anyone is welcome to participate. When you look at the pieces, decide which part you wish to play, and maybe let Isaac know ahead of time – his email is isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com and bring the music with you to the Guitar Society meeting.

    This is a shortened ensemble session to allow for a longer Open Stage time. We’re also excited to feature a piece composed for guitar duo by a society member!

    Pieces for the May Meeting

    Galya’s Dance – Lou Warde
    MP3 recording and score available on Lou’s website here
    Download the PDF score here
    Watch the YouTube performance here
    Notes: Let’s do this one again! It’s a lovely bit of music, and it’s worth another evening’s practice. This is an original composition by Lou Warde, and the practice recordings are incredibly helpful. This piece is difficult! Part 3 is the friendliest part with almost all the notes at a moderate pace in the first position. To locate the MP3 recording on his website you’ll need to locate the piece title and click on it to expand the tile showing the recording, video, and files.

    Lullaby – Karen Meyers
    Score and parts: Lullaby
    Recording: none
    Notes: This is a piece composed by a Corvallis Guitar Society member and long-time regular at society meetings, Karen Myer. This piece is written as a duo, but Part 1 players will be splitting into a two-part divisi in measures 13-16. Players on Part 1a will be playing only notes stemmed upwards, and players on Part 1b will play the notes stemmed downwards.

    Open Stage

    Special note: we were unable to provide an open stage time last meeting, so the signups from the April meeting will be featured first.

    Everyone is invited to perform guitar music on the Open Stage at the Corvallis Guitar Society, whether beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Bring your guitar, put your name down on the sign-up sheet at the beginning of the evening, and we’ll give you a warm welcome as you share some music with us!

    Guitar Teaching Lessons

    The Guitar Lessons Program is a free lesson offered to community members twice monthly by Corvallis Guitar Society Directors Isaac Engel, and Jacob Ripley.

    The After School Guitar Program is free and open to the public. We invite especially middle and high school students to explore the possibilities that playing guitar can open up. Our goal is to raise the awareness and understanding of the guitar as a wonderful instrument by featuring group lessons, private lessons and ensemble music.

    These month’s scores are a friendly interpretation of Malaguena https://guitardownunder.com/_scores/malaguena.php and an intermediate arrangement of Aura Lee https://guitardownunder.com/_scores/auralee.php both done by the fantastic fingerstyle guitarist Bill Tyers.

    If you have any question contact Jacob at jacob.ripley5@gmail.com  or phone 541-357-2513, or contact Isaac Engel isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com or phone 971-718-4535 and you can view his website: https://isaacengelmusic.com/

    Times are as follows:
    The First Monday on May 5 at Odd Fellows Hall – Isaac Engel
    6:00pm to 7:00pm is the After School Guitar Program (group lesson and ensemble)
    The Third Monday on May 19 at Odd Fellows Hall – Jacob Ripley
    7:00 – 8:30pm is the After School Guitar Program group lesson & the Community Beginning group lesson.

    The Location for the Event

    Entrance to the above events is free and open to the public (donations gratefully received).

    Location: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR 97333. The entrance door is right next to the New Morning Bakery.

    Thanks so much and all best wishes,

    Best Regards
    Isaac Engel, Director of the Corvallis Guitar Society

  • Corvallis Guitar Society Events in April 2025

    Summary

    • Our next Guitar Society Meeting is on Monday, April 7th (first Monday of the month) at Odd Fellows Hall and will begin at 7:15 pm; free and open to the public.
    • Bret Williams is our featured artist for the evening concert.
    • Isaac Engel will be running the Community Ensemble Session; scores and performance prep notes are found in the ensemble section.
    • The Open Stage is an opportunity for anyone to play classical guitar music – beginners, intermediate, and advanced!
    • The After School Guitar Program is going to take place on Monday April 7th at 6:00pm and on Monday April 21st at 7:00pm. This month Isaac Engel and Jacob Ripley will be teaching both finger-style and chord versions of Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles.
    • Information on other local guitar events included at the end!

    Corvallis Guitar Society Monthly Meeting

    This month’s meeting is on Monday, April 7th, 7:15pm – 9:15pm.
    Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis
    Free & Open to the Public

    The Agenda

    7:15 – 7:20 pm Welcome
    7:20 – 7:40 pm Open Guitar Ensemble: See the Guitar Ensemble section for scores and recordings. Everyone is welcome to play in the group! This month’s session will be shorter due to…
    7:40 – 7:55 pm Guest Ensemble: The Porch Players come and perform a selection of tunes for a guitar/ukulele ensemble!
    7:55 – 8:20 pm Open Stage: beginners, intermediate players, and advanced guitarists are all welcome to come and share their music with us!
    8:20 – 8:30 pm Break and Refreshments
    8:30 – 9:15 pm Bret Williams takes the stage as our guest artist for the evening’s free guitar concert.

    Featured Artist Bret Williams

    https://bretwilliamsmusic.com/

    Bret Williams infuses traditional western forms with popular elements that showcase the natural beauty of the guitar. 

    “The Music of Bret Williams has it all: fantastic playing, great recording quality, and compositions that will please classical, jazz, and general listeners alike.” ThisIsClassicalGuitar.com. Classical Guitar Magazine profiled his work as “alluring” and “accomplished.” Tony Morris of NPR’s Classical Guitar Alive! praised his music for it’s “energetic, warm and polished sound.” Soundboard Magazine credits him with “wonderful precision.”

    Notable concert appearances include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, St. Peter’s Church, The Riverside Church, the Shandelee Music Festival, and the Mannes Guitar Symposium.  He has taught at Concordia College, Lucy Moses School, The School at Columbia University, Hostos Community College, Turtle Bay Music School, and has been instructing at Rodeph Sholom School for fourteen years. He served on faculty as a general music teacher at the South Bronx Early College Academy.

    We’re excited to have Bret playing for us!

    Open Guitar Ensemble

    Isaac Engel is running the Open Guitar Ensemble in which anyone is welcome to participate. When you look at the pieces, decide which part you wish to play, and let Isaac know ahead of time – his email is isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com. Remember to bring the music with you to the Guitar Society meeting.

    Here are the scores and Performance Notes for the Ensemble Session Music:

    Pieces for the April Meeting

    La Llorona – Mexican Traditional arr. by Bill Tyers
    Recording and score on Bill’s website here
    Download the PDF score here
    Notes: This is a fairly easy arrangement of a beautiful traditional Mexican tune for guitar trio with an optional fourth part for an acoustic bass guitar. This score is unusual for including TAB notation for the top three guitar parts, so invite your TAB playing friends to join us on this one! If anyone would like to bring and play an acoustic bass guitar to fill out the optional fourth part, please let me know because that would be lovely.

    Galya’s Dance – Lou Warde
    MP3 Recording and Score available on Lou’s website here
    Download the PDF score here
    Watch the YouTube performance here
    Notes: This is an original composition by Lou Warde, and the practice recordings will be vital to the success of this one. It’s difficult! Part 3 is the friendliest part with almost all the notes at a moderate pace in the first position. To locate the MP3 recording you’ll need to locate the piece title and click on it to expand the tile showing the recording, video, and files.

    Open Stage

    Everyone is invited to perform guitar music on the Open Stage at the Corvallis Guitar Society, whether beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Bring your guitar, put your name down on the sign-up sheet at the beginning of the evening, and we’ll give you a warm welcome as you share some music with us!

    We’re excited to welcome local guitar & ukulele ensemble The Porch Players to share some of their music with us this month.

    Community Guitar Lessons

    The Guitar Lessons Program is a free lesson offered to community members twice monthly by Corvallis Guitar Society directors Isaac Engel and Jacob Ripley.

    The After School Guitar Program is completely free. We invite middle and high school students to explore the possibilities that playing guitar can open up. Our goal is to increase the opportunity to enjoy playing the guitar by featuring group lessons, private lessons and ensemble music through this program.

    The Community Beginning group lesson is from 8:00 to 8:30 on the 3rd Monday of the month, and anyone interested in playing guitar or picking up some new guitar skills and music is welcome to attend, completely free of charge.

    Feel free to come meet with Jacob and Isaac at their sessions!

    If you have any questions contact Jacob at jacob.ripley5@gmail.com  or phone 541-357-2513, or contact Isaac Engel isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com or phone 971-718-4535 and you can view his website: https://isaacengelmusic.com/

    Times are as follows:
    The first Monday on April 7th at Odd Fellows Hall – Isaac Engel
    6:00pm to 7:00pm is the After School Guitar Program (group lesson for students)
    The Third Monday on April 21st at Odd Fellows Hall – Jacob Ripley
    7:00 – 8:30pm is the After School Guitar Program group lesson (for students) & the Community Beginning group lesson.

    Location for the Events

    Entrance to the above events is free and open to the public (donations gratefully received).

    Location: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR 97333.
    The entrance door is right next to the New Morning Bakery.

    Other Guitar Events

    Guitarist David Rogers and University of Oregon clarinet faculty Wonkak Kim will perform their program Classics on Broadway on Sunday, April 6 from 3:00-4:30pm at Jazz Station.

    124 W. Broadway
    Eugene, OR 97401
    (548) 205-1030
    https://thejazzstation.org/get-tickets/upcoming-shows/#!event/2025/4/6/david-rogers-wonkak-kim-classical-on-broadway

    Thanks and best wishes,
    Isaac Engel, director

    on behalf of the Corvallis Guitar Society

  • Corvallis Guitar Society Events in March 2025

    Summary

    • Our next Guitar Society Meeting is on Monday March 3rd (first Monday of the month) at Odd Fellows Hall and will begin at 7:15 pm; free and open to the public.
    • James Bishop Edwards is our Featured Artist guitarist, and he is going to perform at 7:20 pm: He has been a performer, teacher, composer and recording artist for over 35 years 😊
    • Isaac Engel will be running the Ensemble Session; He provides three of the music scores all from Andrew Forrest that are accessible to you – one of the pieces we are replaying from the January CGS, and two of the three have recordings of the ensemble pieces you can play with.
    • The Open Stage is an opportunity for anyone to play classical guitar music – beginners, intermediate, and advanced!
    • The After School Guitar Program is going to take place on Monday, March 3rd at 6:00pm run by Isaac Engel, and on Monday, March 17th at 7:00pm run by Jacob Ripley.
    • Oregon State University Event: World-class virtuoso Adam Levin visits Oregon State University for an hour-long recital. You can visit this on March 7th at 7pm, and the details are listed on this lower down.

    Corvallis Guitar Society Monthly Meeting

    Our next monthly meeting is on Monday, March 3rd , 7:15pm – 9:15pm
    Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis
    Free & Open to the Public

    The Agenda
    7:15 – 7:20 pm Welcome
    7:20 – 8:05 pm James Bishop Edwards is our Featured Artist Guitarist 😊
    8:05 – 8:15 pm BREAK and Refreshments
    8:15 – 8:45 Open Guitar Ensemble: See below for the Guitar Ensemble music – everyone is welcome to play in the group!
    8:45 – 9:15 pm Open Stage: beginners, intermediates, and advanced guitarists are all welcome to come and share their music with us.

    Featured Artist James Bishop Edwards

    James Bishop-Edwards has been a performer, teacher, composer and recording artist for over 35 years. He plays not only the rich and varied traditional repertoire, but also his own compositions and contemporary genres as well.  James plays historical instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque periods such as the five-course guitar and eight-course lute.  He was head of the Guitar Department at Southern Oregon University in Ashland for several years, and previously on the faculty as Guitar Instructor at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo.

    James has over twenty recordings to his credit, which feature his arrangements of American and European classics.  Six books of these arrangements have been published by Mel Bay Publications.  A few of his many performance credits include: featured artist at the 1999 and 2005 La Guitarra California Festival, the Santa Barbara Arts Festival, Richard Schneiders’ Lost Mountain Guitar Festival, and soloist with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and Jefferson Baroque Orchestra. He has also worked in duo with vocalists, flutists, violinists, etc. and in collaboration with theatre and dance companies as composer/performer. James’ current activities include composing new works for guitar, collaborative concerts with various ensembles, and working on a historical compendium of American guitar music.
    –  Bravo 😊

    Open Guitar Ensemble

    Isaac Engel is running the Open Guitar Ensemble in which anyone is welcome to participate. When you look at the pieces, decide which part you wish to play, and maybe let Isaac know ahead of time – his email is isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com and bring the music with you to the Guitar Society meeting.

    Here are the Three Pieces of music for the Ensemble Session:

    The first two pieces here are both in the Forrest Ensemble Series No. 3: Cupararee and Janet’s Thumb Jig, so you can click on this and observe Number 2, and Number 4:
    Score and Parts: https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Scores/Quartets/Q0030FESno3.pdf

    2. Cupararee or Graysin (G. Coperario) arr. Andrew Forrest
    Notes: This piece is a nice and easy one! Coperario is an early Baroque period composer and musician in the English court who changed his name from Cooper as Italian music became more popular, so we’ll play this in a stately manner. Parts 3 and 4 are accessible to any skill level.

    4. Janet’s Thumb Jig – Andrew Forrest
    Notes: This is not an easy piece! We’ll do our best to play it at the lively 80bpm tempo, but we can adjust as needed. It’s a very fun bit of lively music. Part 3 is probably the easiest.

    Che Farò Senza Euridice – Christoph Willibald Gluck arr. Andrew Forrest
    Score and Parts:
    https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Scores/Quintets/Q0215CheFaro%CC%80SenzaEurydice.pdf

    Notes: We are bringing this piece back by players’ request! Just a reminder that this piece is for five guitars, so please email me at isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com to coordinate parts, so we don’t miss any by mistake. Parts 1 in a higher position and 4 in first position have the melody. Parts 2 and 3 provide the harmony and pulse, and Part 5 places the bass line into a drop D tuning. The recording provided is very useful for practice, and I also want to share my favorite performance of the original music from the Irish National Opera with you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BjCvWvg0So

    Only Two have Recordings of The Ensemble Pieces You Can Play With:

    2. Cupararee or Graysin (G. Coperario) arr. Andrew Forrest
    Recording: https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Sounds/Quartets/Cupararee.mp3

    4. Janet’s Thumb Jig – Andrew Forrest
    Recording: none.

    Che Farò Senza Euridice – Christoph Willibald Gluck arr. Andrew Forrest
    Recording: https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Sounds/Quintets/CheFaro%CC%80SenzaEuridice.mp3
    And you can also observe this performance as mentioned above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BjCvWvg0So

    Open Stage

    The Open Stage at the Corvallis Guitar Society monthly meeting is available for anyone to play their own music featuring beginner, intermediate, and advanced. So, bring your guitar and plan on performing a piece 😊

    Guitar Teaching Lessons

    The Guitar Program Lessons will return and start performing in January this month by Isaac Engel, and Jacob Ripley.

    The After School Guitar Program is free and open to the public. Focusing on mid and high school students, the goal is to raise their awareness and understanding of the guitar instrument by featuring group lessons, private lessons and ensemble music.
    Jacob also provides Community Beginning Lesson for people of all ages, so anyone can come for this lesson.
    Feel free to come along and meet up with Jacob and Isaac at their sessions if you are interested.
    For more information contact Jacob on jacob.ripley5@gmail.com  or phone 541 357 2513, or contact Isaac Engel isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com or phone 971 718 4535 and you can view his website: https://isaacengelmusic.com/

    Times are as follows:
    The First Monday on March 3RD at Odd Fellows Hall – Isaac Engel
    6:00pm to 7:00pm is the After School Guitar Program (group lesson and ensemble)
    The Third Monday on March 17TH  at Odd Fellows Hall – Jacob Ripley
    7:00 – 8:30pm is the After School Guitar Program group lesson & the Community Beginning group lesson.

    Entrance to the above events is free and open to the public (donations gratefully received). Location: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR 97333. The entrance door is right next to the New Morning Bakery.

    Oregon State University Event March 7th

    March 7, 7pm in Community Hall Room 303 (FREE/ DONATIONS ACCEPTED): World-class virtuoso Adam Levin visits Oregon State University for an hour-long recital. 
    Praised for his “visceral and imaginative performances” by the Washington Post, prize winning and Billboard top-charting classical guitarist and recording artist Adam Levin has performed on four continents across the globe.

    Oregon State University Event March 13th

    March 13/7 PM/PRAX: the OSU Guitar Ensemble presents their winter concert, featuring music from Brazil, opera, and Broadway.

    guitar-ensemble-page.jpg
    OSU Guitar Ensemble – Winter Concert | PRAxprax.oregonstate.edu

    March 16, 3pm, Community Hall room 303: OSU student Jacob Ripley gives his graduating recital.

    Thanks much and all best wishes,

    Best Regards
    Jon Sharp, Director Corvallis Guitar Society


  • Corvallis Guitar Society Events in February 2025

    Summary

    • Our next Guitar Society Meeting is on Monday February 3rd (first Monday of the month) at Odd Fellows Hall and will begin at 7:15 pm; free and open to the public.
    • Yuri Liberzon is ourFeatured Artist guitarist and he is wonderful in terms of performing all round America, he also teaches, and has created four Music Albums – YAY 😊
    • Isaac Engle will be running the Ensemble Session; He provides three of the music scores all from Andrew Forrest that are accessible to you, and all three have recordings of the ensemble pieces you can play with – See the access and details below…
    • The Open Stage is an opportunity for anyone to play classical guitar music – beginners, intermediate, and advanced!
    • The After School Guitar Program is going to take place on Monday February 3rd at 6:00pm run by Isaac Engel, and on Monday 17th at 7:00pm run by Jacob Ripley.

    Corvallis Guitar Society Monthly Meeting

    Our next monthly meeting is on Monday, February 3rd , 7:15pm – 9:15pm
    Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis
    Free & Open to the Public

    The Agenda
    7:15 – 7:20 pm Welcome
    7:20 – 7:50 pm Open Guitar Ensemble: See below for the Guitar Ensemble music – everyone is welcome to play in the group!
    7:50 – 8:20 pm Open Stage: beginners, intermediates, and advanced guitarists are all welcome to come and share their music with us.
    8:20 – 8:30 pm BREAK and Refreshments
    8:30 – 9:15 pm Yuri Liberzon is our Featured Artist Guitarist 😊

    Featured Artist Yuri Liberzon

    Yuri Liberzon was born in Novosibirsk, Russia and raised in Israel and now lives in America. Yuri Liberzon has been recognized for his impressive technical ability and musicality for classical guitarist. Based on his achievements in the music field United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has granted Yuri Liberzon ‘Alien of Extraordinary Ability’ United States Permanent Residency.
    Yuri Liberzon has given countless numbers of concerts across the United States andnotable concerts venues include -92nd Street New York, Florida State University, Oregon State University, Santa Clara University, Marlow Guitar Series in Maryland, Murov Music College in Novosibirsk, Russia, Legion of Honor in San Francisco, Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, and many guitar societies. Mr. Liberzon has collaborated and performed in concerts with many renown musicians including guitarists Grisha Goryachev, Patrick O’Connell, Piotr Pakhomkin and flutist Josué Casillas. Orchestra performanceswithDiablo Symphony Orchestra and Tahoe Symphony Orchestra. Chamber music with Gold Coast Chamber Players, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and Quartet San Francisco.
    Media appearances include: Capital Public Radio of Sacramento, Classical Guitar Magazine, Kol HaMusica (National Classical Music Radio Station of the Israel Broadcasting Authority), KUHF (NPR Houston), KUSF San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle, Soundboard Magazine and WDR German Television Network.
    Mr. Liberzon has created four albums in collaboration with Grammy winning sound engineer and producer Nahuel Bronzini: ‘Ascension’, 2015; ‘¡Acentuado!’ (Soundset Recordings), 2017 and ‘3 Violin Sonatas by J.S. Bach’, 2020 (Laudable Records), and in August 2022.
    Mr. Liberzon is an avid teacher. He has prepared students admitted into some of the most prestigious music schools – Juilliard Pre-College, Peabody Conservatory and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
    Mr. Liberzon is endorsed by Royal Classics Strings and is a professor of guitar at California State University, Stanislaus.
    –  Bravo 😊

    Open Guitar Ensemble

    Isaac Engel is running the Open Guitar Ensemble in which anyone is welcome to participate. When you look at the pieces, decide which part you wish to play, and maybe let Isaac know ahead of time – his email is isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com and bring the music with you to the Guitar Society meeting.

    Here are the Three Pieces of music for the Ensemble Session:

    We will be playing three of the pieces by Andrew Forrest, and Our first two pieces are from the Forrest Ensemble Series No. 3:
    https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Scores/Quartets/Q0030FESno3.pdf

    1. Allemande and Nachtanz – Tielmann Susato arr. Andrew Forrest
    Notes: this recording is only of the Allemande and slightly differing in the arrangement, but it will work very well for practice purposes. This is a great piece to try taking a part you usually don’t play, such as leading with the melody in Part 1 or grounding the ensemble with the Part 4 bass line.

    5. Santa Lucia – Neopolitan Traditional arr. Andrew Forrest
    Notes: this is a beautiful and easy piece. Enjoy!

    Che Farò Senza Euridice – Christoph Willibald Gluck arr. Andrew Forrest
    Score and parts:
    https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Scores/Quintets/Q0215CheFaro%CC%80SenzaEurydice.pdf
    Notes: This fairly difficult piece is for FIVE guitars. Our texture will be slightly thinner, but this will suit the early Classical era of this music very well. Please review the piece and email me at isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com ahead of the meeting to coordinate parts, so we don’t leave any out by mistake. Each part has unique opportunities. The melody is found in a higher position in Part 1 and in first position in Part 4. Parts 2 and 3 provide the arpeggios driving the piece forward, and Part 5 provides the foundation of the bassline… but in drop D tuning!

    All Three have Recordings of The Ensemble Pieces You Can Play With:

    1. Allemande and Nachtanz – Tielmann Susato arr. Andrew Forrest
    Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ywQ-nFFd8M

    5. Santa Lucia – Neopolitan Traditional arr. Andrew Forrest
    Recording: https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Sounds/Quartets/SantaLucia.mp3

    Che Farò Senza Euridice – Christoph Willibald Gluck arr. Andrew Forrest
    Recording: https://www.forrestguitarensembles.co.uk/resources/Sounds/Quintets/CheFaro%CC%80SenzaEuridice.mp3

    Open Stage

    The Open Stage at the Corvallis Guitar Society monthly meeting is available for anyone to play their own music featuring beginner, intermediate, and advanced. So, bring your guitar and plan on performing a piece 😊

    Guitar Teaching Lessons

    The Guitar Program Lessons will return and start performing in January this month by Isaac Engel, and Jacob Ripley.

    The After School Guitar Program is free and open to the public. Focusing on mid and high school students, the goal is to raise their awareness and understanding of the guitar instrument by featuring group lessons, private lessons and ensemble music.
    Jacob also provides Community Beginning Lesson for people of all ages, so anyone can come for this lesson.
    Feel free to come along and meet up with Jacob and Isaac at their sessions if you are interested.
    For more information contact Jacob on jacob.ripley5@gmail.com  or phone 541 357 2513, or contact Isaac Engel isaac.engel.guitar@gmail.com or phone 971 718 4535 and you can view his website: https://isaacengelmusic.com/

    Times are as follows:
    The First Monday on February 3RD at Odd Fellows Hall – Isaac Engel
    6:00pm to 7:00pm is the After School Guitar Program (group lesson and ensemble)
    The Third Monday on February 17TH  at Odd Fellows Hall – Jacob Ripley
    7:00 – 8:30pm is the After School Guitar Program group lesson & the Community Beginning group lesson.

    The Location for the Event

    Entrance to the above events is free and open to the public (donations gratefully received). Location:Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR 97333. The entrance door is right next to the New Morning Bakery.

    Thanks much and all best wishes,

    Best Regards
    Jon Sharp, President Corvallis Guitar Society